City Will Start Actually Collecting Data on Accidents Involving Cyclists and Pedestrians

It’s a long- and widely-held truism that cyclists and pedestrians are enemies on New York City streets, and that their combined speed, absentmindedness and brazenness results in tons of collisions, but nobody really knows because the city has never kept track of such accidents. But the new “TrafficStat” bill approved by the City Council yesterday aims to do just that.

Gothamist reports that TrafficStat, one of three new traffic safety bills approved by the City Council and slated to be put into practice in the coming weeks, requires that the city start tracking the number and type of accidents that occur between cyclists and pedestrians.

The less confusingly named “Saving Lives Through Better Information” bill, also approved yesterday, requires that the NYPD publish monthly traffic accident and summonses data so that dangerous and problematic areas, intersections and streets can be identified, targeted, and modified. And, finally, the third bill approved yesterday means that the Department of Transportation has to give a detailed explanation every time it doesn’t act on a request for new traffic control measures like new stop signs, traffic lights and bike parking.

Incidentally, you know you can request a bike rack outside your home or workplace through the DoT website, right here, don’t you?